A Smattering Of (Shaky) 2011 Predictions

Since I’m completely adept at predictions, here goes a few more…wait a second….anyone else having a hard

What happened to that, "I'll only play for Manchester United" pledge?

time believing or understanding why ‘Arry Rednapp would want David Beckham at Tottenham? (I had commented that this had the same chance of happening as the World Cup coming to the US in 2022…anywho…)

I don’t understand it. Game after game Gareth Bale launches curling crosses from the left–or right–flank and game after game either Roman Pavlyuchenko or Peter Crouch (we’ll get back to Crouch) flail and flail and flail. And now Tottenham wants Beckham? To do precisely what? Heave more balls into the 18′ that get missed instead of employing Lennon to drive the wing?

Rely exclusively on Luka Modric for the steel in your midfield? Someone….Anyone?!

Okay, let’s move on with predictions that are guaranteed (not) to come true in 2011 or otherwise known as the Year Of The Shin Guardian (kidding):

Extreme Mike, star for club and country...what club next?

• Michael Bradley goes to the Premiership

Let’s start with a lay-up. Well not really, but one for this column.

Borussia Monchengladbach–or Bo’Munchen as we call it around TSG country–is flailing in the Bundesliga right now and Junior’s contract is up in the summer of 2012 (correction). They’ll want to get value for Bradley….plus the Bundesliga outfit just brought in youngster Håvard Nordtveit, a promising 6’2” Norwegian defender despite washing out of Arsenal’s system. Nordtveit plays defense but has also spent time in the midfield.

Junior has always expressed his desire to play for a top team. While Bradley The Senior was a student of the Italian side Inter, Serie A and Italian football are now squarely focused on home-grown players in the way of their World Cup 2010 collapse I just can’t see Junior heading to Bootville–though I do favor Roma as the best destination. Anyone remember how Jose Mourinho was condemned last year because his Inter squad consisted of mostly foreign-born players?

Back to Junior….

Arsenal….specifically Arsene Wenger was rumored to be tailing the Junior Bradley around South Africa–though the report was never corroborated. Would a move to Manchester United where Bob Bradley has a relationship with Sir Alex be beyond the scope of possibility.

Who knows, but Premiership bound at the least we can see.

• Clubs focus on making their product offensive

While the World Cup might have brought us the likes of Nigel DeJong and Mark Van Bommel hammering opponents at the very edge of the yellow card line, that international soccer trend will not be one that overtakes the club game.

Sure you can point to Barcelona and Real Madrid already showing lookers what offensive football is all about, but there is a sweeping notions that will drive offensive focus and employment in leagues around the world.

…and it starts with a wider dispersion of the scrilla, the dead presidents….money. With more teams in the Premiership (Manchester City), in MLS (NYRB) opening up budgets there is cash out there for a wider swath of teams to compete for championship level football across leagues and to have the depth that’s needed to do it.

Combine that with a wider net cast by talent developers at clubs and the result is multiple options for the big payday for multiple players.

How'd this guy end up in KC?

Therefore further is needed beyond cash to entice a player in many cases.

In fact, in an odd example, Ryan Smith of the Kansas City Wizards (and formerly of Arsenal) commented this past year to TSG that he had a number of offers when Arsenal cut him loose but it was Peter Vermes commitment to attacking football that was a major variable in Smith’s decision to sign with then the Kansas City Wizards. Was there a more unlikely first timers in MLS last year than they heavily accented Londoner Ryan Smith who hails from one of the busy part of London going to play in Kansas City?

And the manifestation obviously comes on the playing field as well.

When a team (like Blackpool under Ian Holloway or Bolton under Owen Coyle) get attack-minded, players remain more focused and put in a hard effort on the defensive end. The best way to get a player involved on defense is get that player on involved offense.

While a team like Holloway’s Seasiders may get a beatdown from time to time, the notion of the “attack” gives player the excitement to come to field and challenge teams with more talent.

Beyond this chain reaction, we haven’t yet talked about the MLS’s Index to improve scoring or the need to improve scoring to improve ratings–can you say….Jabulani!

• USMNT: Tim Ream’s grooming for 2014 will begin.

Ask TSG a few months ago an Omar Gonzalez would have been the mortal lock for 2014 starter. We’re still in Gonzalez’s camp despite Gonzalez’s late season swoon–both he and Ream had shockers in their team’s final playoff games–but we’re a little concerned about Gonzalez’s ability to turn and stick with quicker attackers.

Gonzalez will receive challenges for his playing time on the right from the likes of Gale Agbossoumonde Chad Marshall, Ike Opara and perhaps Oguchi Onyewu.

Camp Cupcake and Tim Ream Time starts....NOW!

Meanwhile, there is no other leftie in the Yank’s youth farm system beyond Brek Shea, who received raved reviews in central defense recently overseas, but never has been employed there for club and country. Sure there is Clarence Goodson, but he appears to have a ceiling as an understudy under Bob Bradley.

Ream’s got the height, the athleticism and most importantly the main trait the US is lacking at the back–difference-making ball distribution–to nail the spot.

Usher in…the era of Tim Ream?

Pastore....like Messi, not really, but soon....

• Two Javiers will join the world’s elite.

At different times last year, Lionel Messi, Ronaldo, Arjen Robben, Wayne Rooney (certainly in the English speaking press), Wesley Sneijder and Xavi were considered the best in class in global soccer.

2011 won’t bring the outright demise of any of those players–indeed Lionel Messi and Ronaldo as we wrote earlier last week seem to be hitting their Bird-Magic moment–but will see Rooney and Robben begin to slip.

In their place, two stars will join the elite class and if you’ve been paying attention to TSG, you’ve probably already have an idea of one of them.

And Mexican flairmeister, Javier “Chicarito” Hernandez–who has shoved our questions of whether his nickname of “Little Pea” was driving his hype down our throat–will force his way on to the starting eleven at Manchester United and drive Mexico to greater heights in international play.

The current super sub already has one of the best headers in the game and is nightmare to track off the ball.

Is it any wonder that Federico Macheda sees the writing on the wall at Old Trafford and wants out?

• Speaking of Manchester, a Special SomeOne will be rumored to take up residence there.

Hedging our 2011 bet here a little.

Does Jose Mourinho stay in La Liga with Real Madrid for one or two years. We know it’s no more than two reasons max with Ronaldo. I mean, who could?

Post-Bernebeu, Mourniho will head back to the Premiership (either in 2011 or ’12) likely as the skipper of the Citizens, but perhaps, depending on Sir Alex Ferguson’s desire, across town at the home of the Red Devils.

Bet on Manchester City if you have to. Now the question is will Mourinho don his own style scarf….or a snood?

Carroll...kind of funny that his Tynesiders kit looks like prison garb, no?

• Andy Carroll will transform the English national team.

England, you have Kevin Nolan to thank, we think.

Bad boy striker Carroll has been involved in many a melee, and as part of a bail condition for a trial that resumes this month, Carroll was ordered to live with Newcastle captain Kevin Nolan.

The hope of the Three Lions rests on Carroll’s ability to stay out of trouble.

Not since Michael Owen graced the pitch with full fitness has England had a true striker that could really damage a central defense. You might contend Wayne Roo-ins fit that bill, but the Shrekster prefers to play more of a false nine and meander about the field.

In Carroll, England have a big body to stay upfield for the deep ball who can also deposit the marble in the netting from outside the eighteen, a true step-up at the international level from a slow and misfiring Emile Heskey. Peter Crouch, not your international solution either.

More so, with Carroll occupying defenders, Wayne Rooney can comfortably work the space behind him. Add in Adam Johnson on the wing–who bewilderingly is not a regular starter at Manchester City, and things are looking up for the Queen’s squad.

• Who’s left without a chair in LA Galaxy musical chairs.

Would that be Landon Donovan? But only if he doesn’t want one.

Here’s what we came up with last week:

Conspiracy theory: Donovan tells Bababooey..I mean Bruce Arena…that he wants to push for a move to Everton. Arena reminds him that he hasn’t won an MLS Cup in Los Angeles (since 2005) and that he shortchanged his club team by having a World Cup focus in 2010.

Donovan agrees to defer for a year and tells Bruce he’ll give him the year. Arena stockpiles all his national team cronies for one last hurrah as he sunsets to the shuffleboard pavement up in Santa Barbara.

End result? Ronaldinho finds with way to Los Angeles this year if and only if Landon Donovan has intimated to MLS that he wants to head to Goodison after this year.

So deductively, if you see Ronaldinho out at Koi…I mean out on the pitch at HDC, start peppering Landon with questions on Twitter.

Chip Passes:

• Freddy Adu won’t come back to MLS

• Arsenal won’t pick up a 1st string goalkeeper.

• The USWNT will not win the World Cup….but they’ll be entertaining and welcome the era of Heath and Alex Morgan.

• John Henry & Company will introduce a “Moneyball” strategy to player development and acquisition at Liverpool that will vaunt “Sabermetrics”-type analysis into the mainstream media in soccer. (Not that it didn’t exist before, just now folks will take notice.)

• Houston will sign David Suazo as their designated player once attempts to lure Giovanni Dos Santos from Tottenham’s doghouse fall through.

• Freddie Montero will win the Golden Boot in MLS; Omar Cummings will prove he belongs in the EPL.

• Sepp Blatter will win the FIFA election in a bigger landslide than Reagan beat Mondale.

• Danny Mwanga will declare that he will play for the United States, Andy Najar will not.

I know they sit above the relegation zone now but I have a hard time seeing West Ham staying in the EPL for another season.

I’d like to see Bradley at a bigger club. He’s shown he can fight his way up the pecking order at clubs when he arrives. I’d prefer Arsenal but I don’t see that happening with their loaded midfield. With Mikel and Essien’s poor play recently, I could see Chelsea spending for a holding midfielder like Bradley.

I am thinking Harry wants another option on the wing as both Bentley and Kranjcar are unhappy with the lack of playing time and likely leaving soon. Why it has to be Becks puzzles me as well though. Bale’s service is already great, and is clearly getting better. If Becks still is among the best dead ball men in the world, then he may be worth it? I’m curious if not enthusiastic. Any more thoughts Matt?

redknapp said it was the leadership and presence in the lokcer room. and from watching him at the end of this past season with LA, his accuracy is still undeniable. when he doesnt have to do everything, he can be really great. and tottenham possibly offers him that.
??

Yeah, but that begs the question of…if it’s a loan and MLS starts in March do you really want to lose your “leader in the lockerroom” at crunch time in the Champion’s League (which Beckham cannot play in) or coming down the pike of the critical point of the EPL season?

I completely agree with you that the team needs leadership–I think that’s a great point that I’m pretty sure I brought up on TSG before…but it should be groomed from within. Not a quick surge by a loanee.

The only guess I have here is that with Kranjcar and Bentley being pushed to leave…a Beckham loan would be cheap enough to bridge most of the season and give some cache to Spurs that might lure other players there.

Couldn’t hurt. I’m all for Aaron Lennon spending some time with a crosser of the ball like Beckham. I’d like to see Lennon develop the ability to whip in a great long cross, even if our forwards are better off with him driving the wing at the moment. It’s not like Beckham needs to be THE leader either. He won’t get the armband, but he will bring some veteran know-how to a relatively young squad. I’m all for it.

and the first thing he does is commit a foul! hahaha I swear he must have been reading the facebook group i was talking in. Someone in there said they are sick of seeing “Nice Guy Jozy”……. then BAM first thing done on the field in the first second is a foul. hahahahaha

Re Bradley-from a key starter in MF on a soon relegated Bundesliga team to a top tier EPL squad? I think his game would be best fit to a lower table squad like WH where he can bundle through the 18 and win balls in the air. And he and Parker will break the yellow card record.

Re Brek Shea- really? We’re still talking about Brek Shea? I must be watching a different game…

Beckham would be horrible for Tottenham. With VandeVaart not playing a lick of D and Modric not exactly a box to box MF who is going to defend in the MF? Although it might get Wilson “The Human Turnover” Pallacios off the field. Never thought I’d miss Tom Huddlestone as a stabilizing MF presence)…
What they need is a healthy scoring Dafoe. And more Gareth Bale. What a player.

Pastore- maybe it’s the highlights I’ve seen but most of his goals are tap ins and hole outs. I find it amazing that after watching Messi for the last few years that you can mention ANYONE in the same sentence. C Ronaldo, Rooney…none of them can dominate a game for long stretches and do whatever they want when they want like him. CR did it for a season at MU but he can’t match Messi’s overall distribution and team first mentality.

On Pastore…he can score goals and I believe he’s two or three of the pace in Serie A this year (and he’s not at a club from Milan), but his passing is better than either Messi or Ronaldo. You’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t watch how he dominates a game.

It’s now Sporting KC not Kansas City Wizards (RIP). And yes Ryan Smith was a shock signing and if he stays healthy will no doubt help push KC into the playoffs* (if Omar Bravo ends up playing in KC even more so).

Ream has done nothing to date to make anyone think he is an answer in the back for the USA going forward. In his one 60 minute opportunity he was aweful and would have conceeded 3-4 goals without Goodson and Guzan covering his mistakes against SA. He may develop but he will still be slow and lack and aerial presence for the internation game. The best young hope we have is Omar Gonzalos who is miles ahaed of Ream at this time. Ream was also badly exposed in the his last MLS po match. Again he may develop but he’s getting Adu-like hype and expectations based on nothing.

I’m not sure where you’re getting this awful South Africa performance from–it was pretty decent. And, at any rate, one performance, especially a first one, is not necessary indicative of anything. I think Ream’s playing every minute for a very good MLS team (which was worst in the league the year before) is right there on top of his CV. I mean, if you want hype and expectations based on nothing, here’s what Ream’s coach was saying before the season started:

“He has a future. I probably shouldn’t say too much, but Ream has a chance to be a national team player. He’s a center back who is comfortable and calm in possession of the ball. He plays a good passing game, he’s an excellent passer. A European-type center back who, I think, reminds me of Rio Ferdinand in the Premier League. Ream is strong tactically and never stressed, and of course he’s good in the air. He has a top-class attitude and spirit.”

Backe had this to say about Juan Agudelo before the season began:

“He’s been impressive for a 17-year-old,” Backe said, referring to Agudelo. “He shows such power. He is something special. When you look at his technical skill, you can compare him with European forwards of the same age, in terms of individual skill.”

An Arsenal or a Manchester United would be interested in Michael Bradley? Where is the cue for the laugh track?

The point isn’t to be mean-spirited: I love this site and think Michael Bradley is a fine player. Lots of heart, but quite limited as a passer and unfortunately not blessed with especially fine touch or vision.

A West Ham, sure. A top four side? I’d be happy to be proven wrong. But I think this is crazy thinking.

Don’t think it’s completely crazy. Bradley is better than Jenas and about on par with Tom Huddlestone, and they get tons of minutes at Tottenham. Bradley plays similarly as Alexandre Song–right down to the positional indiscipline, surprising goals and occasionally brilliant passing–so it’s not totally implausible he could make his way on the squad at Arsenal. Manchester United features Darrons Gibson and Fletcher regularly and you’d have to be a huge big club snob to believe either of these gentlemen have better prospects for the future than Bradley.

And I think you’re guilty of underrating Bradley, as many USMNT fans do: Bradley is a really good passer when he’s on his game and a so-so one when he’s not. Watch Bradley’s performance against Hamburg a couple of weeks ago for an example–they put him in the CAM position and Bradley got an assist and should’ve had two more (he sprung two players for one-on-ones with the keeper with through balls).

Bradley’s passing range doesn’t compare to Huddlestone’s. Huddlestone’s main draw back is his lack of pace / mobility. I am not saying Bradley is a bad passer of the ball, just disputing the claim that he is *really good*.

If Andy Carroll is England’s future, I guess it’s back to the past for England. Carroll and Hernandez both suffer from what must seem like a strange problem for a striker, which is that I’m not sure they do anything but score goals, and then only in a 4-4-2. Not sure Carroll has the passing skills to play the point man in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 and not sure Hernandez can play a false nine or hold the ball up in a similar system against elite competition, which limits them both to 4-4-2, which will increasingly become a specialized system for specialized circumstances.

Yeah, his linkage needs some work, and so does his decision making, but he has good feet / touch / control – and he is a bloody handful! Not sure he’s ready to face the wily defenders of international football just yet, and I prefer Danny Welback TBH. Connor Wickham will the name to watch out for over the next few seasons, especially around 2014…

I like Welbeck quite a bit; somewhat surprised he hasn’t gotten the full compliment of hype from the English. That Sunderland team is very interesting when Gyan, Bent and Welbeck are all playing at the same time…

A few of these predictions are very valid, I believe Carroll will become England’s savior up top, as he is strong like Heskey but can actually score goals *gasp*! I also believe Chicarito will continue to rise as an amazing player. That said, Michael Bradley going ANYWHERE in the top 5 teams in England is a ridiculous prediction. He would never cut the mold at Arsenal, United, Chelsea, Tottenham, or City.

This will make a few people quite sore, but if you USMNT fans really want another Gooch situation, then vote for him to go somewhere he will not play, otherwise concede the fact he is not, nor will ever be, an elite player at an elite team.

Bradley will never be an elite player, but he’s a great contributor to a club. I can see him moving to a team in the EPL, maybe not a Top 5, but will fit in, raise notice, and start. Comparing it to a Gooch situation doesn’t make sense. Bradley is a different type of player and much younger. I never was a fan of Gooch, while it seemed like everyone else was. And I believe he chose Milan for the money after a successful Confederations Cup, and not playing time. You gotta earn that money for the after soccer days while you can. Gooch is on the way out, and Bradley is trying to make a name for himself.

chamo, im sure you realize that gooch went to milan on free transfer. milan took a chance with a player they did not have to invest to much on. then of course there is the little fact that gooch got injured and was not able to earn the chance to play for milan. if bradley goes to a club in this window, it sure as $hit aint gonna be on a free transfer and the team that takes him will be invested in his service.

[…] the ability to make a strong tackle and score – similar to Daniele De Rossi at Roma (however, unlike some of us here, I am in no way in agreement that Bradley can or should replace De Rossi). A stint in Italy would […]

Other than being a veteran, I’ll have to agree in confusion of what Becks would offer Spurs. Spurs – in some ways- mimic the USMNT. A strong midfield – strikers who don’t score – and a back line that (except the AC Milan fixtures) – who are brilliant for 95% of the time and the other 5% inexplicably make mistakes and leave it up to the keeper to make outstanding saves.

Why not Becks?
(A)They already have decent dead ball players

– see Bale’s free kick against West Ham as an example.

(B)They have a deep midfield – the addition of Pienaar is another addition to the winger loaded midfield. Kranjcar – seems to be a great alternative if Bale is not fit or is not getting the job done (see zonal marking’s comparison of the two) and he has two last minute goals (4 points for Spurs) to show for this.

Post WC – I had hoped ‘Arry and the Spurs would make two signings: a midfield workhorse to compliment Modric. And a striker …preferably Gyan or Forlan based on the WC. Ahhh wage structure. To see the rumors of a Forlan transfer was exciting – even if only to see them dashed.

A side note: Sad not to see Torres not included….he seems like a Modric-lite – though the US does not seem to be known for their possession or offensive prowess….I can see why.